Having played badminton for many years previously, stopped and starting again recently, I have become convinced that getting professional coaching is well worth the money, for ANY level of recreational player. Consider this, even if you play once a week, you may spend up to $40 a month on court fees and shuttles. Not to mention money spent on rackets, strings, shoes, drinks etc, and the time commitment put in. If you start off with poor technique, you may be saddled with it for the rest of your life and may not be able to enjoy the game as much as you could have. However, if you even just do a short stint of coaching, maybe once a week for 2 months, which may cost you between $200 to $400 total (the price of a couple of expensive rackets), the improvement in technique can be startling. I am playing at a lower intermediate level and that has been my personal experience, and am enjoying the game a lot more. So, if you are a beginner or an intermediate player, and if you are pondering if you should spend that $300 on the latest Yonex racket, take my advice and spend it on some coaching, it'll help your game a lot more than a shiny new racket.
yea personal coaching is amazing. I am in asia right now training with a national player every day. Been here 2 months already and have been sore every single day. Even though I started playing about just 1 year ago, my game has improved drastically and can perform any shot with ease (my fav. being the around the head jump smash ). My coach has even told me I'm the fastest learner that he has ever seen. But anyways, personal coaching is very worth the investment.
come to think of it, I do spend half of my salary on food.....ahhh. im thinking about a group lesson.. not personal coaching.. does that help.. anyone w/experience ? sometimes im afraid I wont turn out to improve drastically like everyone else when they get coached... >< haha
When you first start as a newbie, group lessons are the way to go. Once you start playing regularly and getting a good grasps of the basics and drills, practicing is what will improve your game. IMO, personal coaching is best for players keen on playing competitive tournaments and reaching their highest potential where maximum efficiency in movement and strokes are necessary. The only downside is whether your coach can bring you to the top of your game. Trust the wrong one and you'll just be wasting your money and time at best. At worst, injuries from improper form.
Seeing you are from Richmond, Daryl at Clearone is pretty good. I'm sure you'll learn something. WHen I used to goto him, I learned at least 1 thing new every lesson.
I agree. IMHO, players (new or old) concentrate too much on what racquet they should use (e.g. the most expensive or newest Yonex) and not enough on receiving proper coaching/training. I believe that the top 3 items a badminton player should invest in are: 1) Coaching / training (from a very reputable coach; at different stages of playing experience; beginner-intermediate-advance levels) 2) Shoes (must be badminton / indoor court shoes and not something like running shoes) 3) Racquet Just my 2 cents worth of advice...
Did You just say $200 to $400 dollars? I'm glad I'm here in the Philippines. An hour's session's worth only 3 dollars. I agree, coaching is very important, especially in the beginner level. By doing this, you're setting a good foundation for your improvement.
Money investment is 1 factor, and how much the player willing to learn, and how to learn is another. Getting a coach (be it group or private) is surely nice, but different students will show different results. Some seem improve much faster than others. Of course, the basics and nature body build might be a factor, but "how to learn effectively" is more important. I've seen ppl taking tons of lessons, but still have wrong strokes for yrs. I've also seen another kind, every lesson surely worth the money. Coach is like a teach, s/he can only show u what it suppose to be, but whether u really get the idea, and successfully adopt it into ur own game, it's another story.
not getting proffesional coaching and trying to learn the game yourself is like asking a kid to learn ABCD.. on his own sitting at home. The beauty of badminton is that once u start playing it u are addicted to it.I have seen a hell lot of people who just tried the game for fun and Just cannot leave it.but it is a pity that while they are ready to even take time of their busy schedule to play everyday they do not even know the correct grip. one year of 'proffesional training' under a coach=one hundred years of 'playing' yourself. And of course as u mentioned newcomers cannot enjoy the game that much without technique. so no second thoughts, just buy a coach if u can afford him.
i dont like people telling me what to do most of the times and i improve drastically when playing other people. ITs the same.
You improve drastically only when you're pushed to the limit by superior skilled players. However, trust me, it's not the same. Improvement is much much more with proper coaching and practice. Badminton is a very technical sport with wide variety of shots and body movements. It's all in the details and those details aren't always obvious to the casual observer. Without guidance with the right experience, you will plateau and might even acquire chronic injuries with improper technique over time.
Depend on what kinda ppl, and how they try to tell u things. If just annoying players, who always blah blah blah giving out a "on court tutorial", I find it's very difficult for most ppl to swallow. However, an experience coach with the right teaching attitude, usually will guide u on the right path in no time. Of course, over rely on the coaching is also no good. You still need ur own practice to let all the stuff to be really urs. That takes a lot of hardwork, such as drills, game analysis, as well as competitive games (i.e. tourny experience, etc).
Absolutely agreed with previous post! regarding Coaching, with proper coaching player can learn proper fundamental which I believed is the most important things in every sports in order to improve the game, prevent injury, etc.. Jumping Smash ! the purpose of doing it to use your body momentum to increase your power, this can only be achieved with proper timing, and technique, I am sure many of you have seen some players try this and end up looking like a fool. Beside good coaching, watching good players ( the pro ) and pay attention to their footwork, grip and setup can improve your game tremendously.
I agree most with this post. I believe it is a total waste of money taking private lessons for the simplest of techniques such as basic footwork and clears etc. 1 on 1 coaching is very expensive (around 25$ an hour here?). Plus, once you've grasped all the techniques, can't you really just review videos on the internet, read articles, and then just practice more for an alternative? Which would be better, practicing 3 times a week (2-hour sessions), say, playing at "drop-ins", or having only 1 private lesson a week (2-hour session)?